The present disclosure relates generally to alarm systems for patient physiological data monitoring instruments. In particular, the present disclosure relates to an adaptive alarm system including features for monitoring ambient sounds and generating an alarm suitable for use in a given environment.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
In the field of medicine, caregivers often monitor certain physiological characteristics of their patients. Accordingly, a wide variety of devices have been developed for monitoring many such characteristics of a patient. Such monitoring devices provide caregivers, such as doctors, nurses, paramedics, and other healthcare personnel with information they may need in order to provide the best possible healthcare for their patients. As a result, such monitoring devices have become an indispensable part of modern medicine.
Medical devices include patient monitors that facilitate measurement and observation of patient physiological data. These patient monitors may be used in a number of settings, such as patient rooms, emergency rooms, ambulances, emergency helicopters, and so on. For example, pulse oximeters are a type of patient monitor that may be employed in such settings. A typical patient monitor cooperates with a sensor to detect and display a patient's vital signs (e.g., temperature, pulse rate, respiratory rate) and/or other physiological measurements (e.g., water content of tissue, blood oxygen level) for observation by a user (e.g., clinician). In the case of a pulse oximeter, it is generally utilized with related sensors to detect and monitor a patient's functional oxygen saturation of arterial hemoglobin (i.e., SpO2) and pulse rate. Other types of patient monitors, such as blood pressure monitors, may be utilized to detect and monitor other physiological parameters. Further, the patient monitors may be incorporated into other types of medical devices, such as mechanical ventilators and anesthesia machines, among others.
A patient monitor may be designed to alert a caregiver when certain physiological conditions are recognized. For example, a pulse oximeter may produce a visual and/or audible alarm when a patient's oxygen saturation exceeds or dips below a predetermined threshold. In certain situations, an audible alarm may be used when a caregiver is not in a patient's room or is away from the patient. Further, a patient monitor may be designed to provide different audible alarms representative of various indications. For example, a patient monitor may sound one alarm in response to a set of data that is representative of a disconnection (i.e., a sensor has been removed from the patient), while sounding a different alarm when measured physiological data indicates a medical condition. Additionally, if the monitor is battery-powered, the patient monitor may sound a notification alarm when battery charge is low. Indeed, these original alarms may be based on multiple variables and may interact with alarms from other monitors or sounds from a surrounding environment. In these situations, a caregiver may have trouble hearing or recognizing the sounded original alarm.